Handel and Haydn Society appointments

Handel and Haydn Society announces three senior staff appointments

Rita McAteer joins staff as Director of Development and External Affairs, Robert Nairn is named Artistic Administrator, and Clifford H. Rust is appointed Director of Finance and Administration.

BOSTON, October 16, 2008 ’Äì The Handel and Haydn Society today announced the appointments of Rita McAteer as Director of Development and External Affairs, Robert Nairn as Artistic Administrator, and Clifford H. Rust as Director of Finance and Administration.

Rita McAteer joined the Society staff as Director of Development and External Affairs for the Handel and Haydn Society on September 30, 2008. In her role, Ms. McAteer directs all income generating activities, which are supported by fundraising, marketing, and communications efforts for the Society’Äôs $3.2M budget. Since 2005, Ms. McAteer had served as Associate Director of Development for Boston Lyric Opera, during which time she doubled foundation giving for the organization while overseeing corporate and foundation giving, annual fund operations, and managing a major donor portfolio. She previously served as Director of Marketing for the Huntington Theatre Company from 1999 until 2005, during which time the number of productions and the budget doubled. As a member of the senior leadership team, she planned, supervised, and executed all aspects of building the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, the first new theatres in Boston in 75 years.

Rob Nairn, principal bass for the Handel and Haydn Society since 2003, assumed his new role as Artistic Administrator on September 26, 2008. His appointment coincides with the announcement of Harry Christophers as the Artistic Director Designate of the Society. In his role, Mr. Nairn will plan and implement artistic programming and policies set forth by the Society’Äôs Artistic Director. Rob Nairn is a versatile performer on the double bass with a career that has spanned Europe, the U.S. and Australasia. Currently Associate Professor at Penn State University, Rob recently joined the Juilliard School’Äôs Academy program in historical performance. Alongside a busy career that includes solo appearances, chamber and orchestral music, Mr. Nairn plans to continue his active concert schedule with the Handel and Haydn Society.

Clifford H. Rust joined the senior staff team at Handel and Haydn Society as Director of Finance and Administration in July 2008. A member of Handel and Haydn Society professional chorus for 15 years, Mr. Rust holds an MBA, cum laude, from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a bachelor’Äôs degree in music from Dartmouth College. Mr. Rust taught music before joining the Boston Music Company in 1997, where he served as General Manager until 2003. Until joining the Society, Mr. Rust was CFO and General Manager of Business Operations for Digital Tigers, Inc. in Atlanta, GA.

Commenting on the appointments, Executive Director and /CEO Marie-Hˆ©lˆ®ne Bernard said, ’ÄúI am delighted to welcome Rita McAteer, Rob Nairn and Cliff Rust to the Handel and Haydn Society family. Their collective experience and abilities make them ideal to direct our artistic and audience development efforts. Together as the senior management team, they will work with me, our Board, our staff and Artistic Director Harry Christophers towards planning successful bi-centennial celebrations for Handel and Haydn Society in 2015. They each bring tremendous qualifications and a genuine love of the music of that Handel and Haydn Society promotes, and I look forward to planning an exciting future for the organization with them.’Äù

The Handel and Haydn Society is a professional period-instrument orchestra and chorus and an internationally recognize¬‚d leader in the field of historically-informed performance. Founded in Boston in 1815, the Society is the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States, with a long history of innovation: it gave the American premieres of Handel’Äôs Messiah (1818), Haydn’Äôs The Creation (1819), Verdi’Äôs Requiem (1878), Bach’Äôs Mass in B Minor (1887), and Bach’Äôs St. Matthew Passion (1889). The Society today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Designate Harry Christophers, Artistic Advisor Sir Roger Norrington, Principal Conductor Grant Llewellyn, and Conductor Laureate Christopher Hogwood, is committed to its mission ’Äúto perform Baroque and Classical music at the highest levels of artistic excellence and to share that music with as large and diverse an audience as possible.’Äù The Massachusetts Cultural Council has lauded the organization for its ’Äúwillingness to take risks and explore new musical horizons.’Äù